Vanessa Lynn Williams is an American actress, singer, and fashion designer from Chappaqua, New York. In the first time she appeared on May 2, 2000 (Celebrity Edition), answered the 12th question wrong and won $32,000 for the Dance In Education Fund. In second time, she appeared at the end of the second episode of the 10th Anniversary Primetime Celebration of the U.S. version of the show to play for $50,000 for the Maria Torres Emerging Artist Project at the Amas Musical Theatre.
Original WWTBAM Run[]
Fastest Finger Question[]
| Fastest Finger Question | |
| Put these television series in the order they debuted, starting with the earliest. | |
| ⬥ A: Nash Bridges | ⬥ B: Charlie's Angels |
| ⬥ C: Fresh Prince of Bel Air | ⬥ D: Get Smart |
| Three of seven answered D-B-C-A (all within .30 seconds of each other!), but Vanessa, with a time of 6.11 seconds, edged out Drew Carey by 0.05 seconds to make it into the Hot Seat. |
Vanessa's Run to the Million[]
| $100 (1 of 15) - Not Timed | |
| Which of the following terms is often used to describe Muzak? | |
| ⬥ A: Subway music | ⬥ B: Cemetery music |
| ⬥ C: Elevator music | ⬥ D: Jailhouse rock |
| $200 (2 of 15) - Not Timed | |
| According to the proverb, "A rolling stone gathers no" what? | |
| ⬥ A: Momentum | ⬥ B: Moss |
| ⬥ C: Lawsuits | ⬥ D: Beatles |
| $300 (3 of 15) - Not Timed | |
| Greenpeace is a global organization on a mission to save what? | |
| ⬥ A: Old money | ⬥ B: Disco |
| ⬥ C: Environment | ⬥ D: Private Ryan |
| $500 (4 of 15) - Not Timed | |
| Which of the following herbs is commonly found in pizza sauce? | |
| ⬥ A: Witch hazel | ⬥ B: Echinacea |
| ⬥ C: Nutmeg | ⬥ D: Oregano |
| $1,000 (5 of 15) - Not Timed | |
| Why do people bring their collectibles to the PBS series "Antiques Roadshow"? | |
| ⬥ A: Appraisal | ⬥ B: Restoration |
| ⬥ C: Sale | ⬥ D: Trade |
After the commercial break, Vanessa mentions to Regis that she just finished filming the remake of the movie Shaft.
Regis: "It's been a while since we've seen a Shaft movie."
Dana Carvey from the audience (The previous celebrity contestant who missed the $64,000 question after a bad response from the audience): "I got the shaft five minutes ago!"
[Entire studio laughs]
Regis: "One more outburst, and you'll get it again!"
| $2,000 (6 of 15) - Not Timed | |
| What city shares its name with a type of white plaster used to make molds and casts? | |
| ⬥ A: Berlin | ⬥ B: Paris |
| ⬥ C: Venice | ⬥ D: Moscow |
| $4,000 (7 of 15) - Not Timed | |
| What political figure was a roommate of actor Tommy Lee Jones at Harvard? | |
| ⬥ A: Bob Kerrey | ⬥ B: Tom Hayden |
| ⬥ C: Jesse Jackson | ⬥ D: Al Gore |
| $8,000 (8 of 15) - Not Timed | |
| In Tom Brokaw's 1999 book "The Greatest Generation," what group is considered the greatest? | |
| ⬥ A: Depression era | ⬥ B: Baby boomers |
| ⬥ C: Founding Fathers | ⬥ D: Generation X |
| Drew Carey: "She's getting the answers from her unborn genius child!" (Vanessa was pregnant at the time)
Regis: "Too bad Dana Carvey wasn't pregnant!" |
| $16,000 (9 of 15) - Not Timed | |
| Raekwon, U-God and Method Man are all what? | |
| ⬥ A: Pokemon characters | ⬥ B: Members of Wu-Tang Clan |
| ⬥ C: Spider-Man villains | ⬥ D: Japanese film titles |
| $32,000 (10 of 15) - Not Timed | |
| Playing a femme fatale, which actress uttered the famous movie line "I'm not gonna be ignored, Dan"? | |
| ⬥ A: Bette Davis | ⬥ B: Sharon Stone |
| ⬥ C: Glenn Close | ⬥ D: Linda Fiorentino |
| $64,000 (11 of 15) - Not Timed | |
| In the famous "Twinkie Defense," whose assassin blamed his crime on a high-sugar diet? '50:50' and 'Ask the Audience' lifelines used | |
| ⬥ A: John Lennon | ⬥ B: Robert F. Kennedy |
| ⬥ C: Malcolm X | ⬥ D: Harvey Milk |
| Ask the Audience Results: A: 33% ⬥ B: 0% ⬥ C: 0% ⬥ D: 67% | |
| Vanessa is leaning towards John Lennon, but isn't positive, so she decides to use her 50:50. Even though John Lennon remains as an answer, she still isn't confident enough to make it her final answer, so she asks the audience. The camera then cuts to Dana Carvey in the audience making faces while submitting his answer, and laughter breaks out.
Regis: "I'm sorry to tell you HE'S voting in this!" Turns out, its a good thing she used the lifeline, because nearly 70 percent of them feel its D. She makes Harvey Milk her final answer and wins $64,000. |
| $125,000 (12 of 15) - Not Timed | |
| The mountainous Khyber Pass runs between Pakistan and what country? 'Phone-a-Friend' lifeline used | |
| ⬥ A: China | ⬥ B: Afghanistan |
| ⬥ C: India | ⬥ D: Iran |
| Vanessa is leaning towards India, but doesn't know this for sure, so she decides to call John. John doesn't know either, but also guesses India. Since they were both leaning in the same direction, Vanessa makes C her final answer.
They were both wrong, however, as the Khyber Pass separates Pakistan and B: Afghanistan. Total Prize Money: $32,000 |
Vanessa's 10th anniversary return[]
| $50,000 (1 of 1) - Not Timed Category: High-End | |
| Which of the following is not a high-end brand of baby stroller? "Ask the Audience" lifeline used. | |
| ⬥ A: Bugaboo | ⬥ B: Schobly |
| ⬥ C: Quinny | ⬥ D: Stokke |
| Ask the Audience Results: A: 28% ⬥ B: 23% ⬥ C: 33% ⬥ D: 16% | |
| Vanessa did not think that either her friend or the expert, George Stephanopoulos would be much help, so she decided to ask the audience. The majority went for C: Quinny, but unfortunately, the results were too spread out, so Vanessa thought about the question for a while. Regis even re-read the question. In the end, Vanessa went with B: Schobly, which turned out to be the correct answer.
Total Winnings: $50,000 |
Trivia[]
- Vanessa, Drew Carey, Penn & Teller, Anthony Anderson and Ray Romano are celebrity contestants on the U.S. series who have appeared more than once.
| Preceded by Dana Carvey |
U.S. Contestant (1st Celebrity Week) Vanessa Williams |
Succeeded by Drew Carey |
| Preceded by Katy Perry |
10th Anniversary Celebrity Contestants Vanessa Williams |
Succeeded by Sherri Shepherd |